New York State heavyweight champion Darrel Madison (13-1, 3 KOs) defends his title against Nagy Aguilera (13-1, 8 KOs) in one of the feature fights of Pugnacious Promotions “Night of Future Champions” event at the Saratoga Springs City Center on Friday, July 31st.

Madison won the title in May 2008 from veteran Zuri Lawrence and has defeated three opponents since, including veteran gatekeepers Jermell Barnes and Dominic Jenkins. His only defeat came in his second fight, a disputed DQ loss to Brooklyn ’s Jamel Perry, who couldn’t recover following an unintentional rabbit punch.

Madison spoke with FightNews earlier this week about his fight with Aguilera, his disqualification, the deceiving nature of his record, and much more.

With one of the biggest fights of your career coming
up on Friday, what is your general outlook going into fight week?

I feel great. I did everything I had to do in camp. I had great sparring, great strength and conditioning, diet was good. I feel bad for the kid.

You’re in the hurt business. Why do you feel bad for him?

I don’t know if it was him or his manager, but they really chewed off more than they could eat. And by the fifth round, he’s going to be looking into the crowd at his manager what a dumb look on his face like, “How the hell did I let him talk me into coming up here and get my [butt] whooped?”

The fight is for your New York State heavyweight title. In the grand scheme of things, how much does that mean to you?

It cements that I am the best heavyweight in New York . This is a fight that everyone has wanted to see for years, since the amateurs – since the Empire State Games when they put up this huge write up on him, and hyped him up, and he went home with a bronze medal.

You said your camp went really well. Can you elaborate on that anymore?

I had so many good sparring partners. I went through so many of them. Literally, I really went through them. I’ve been training for this fight for a good 12 weeks.

Is there a certain type of fight you expect when facing him, or are you planning for your own type of fight?

It’s going to be the fight I want. I am the dictator around here. Every fight I have, I make it my fight. We do what I want to do. If he acts up, I’ll put him in check and make him obey the rules.

If an outsider were to look at your record and see only three knockouts, they would think you’re a pure boxer and not someone who tries to get the opponent out of there. Is that a fair assessment?

I really don’t want to outbox Nagy. I want to hurt this kid. I’ll tell you what happens to a lot of prospects……..You see these guys that are 10-0 with 10 knockouts. And then what is the next question? People want to know if they can box and if they can put the rounds in. I did that early in my career purposefully. I never pressed for a knockout. I always wanted to put the rounds in. So basically, I did my career different than the average heavyweight.

You and Nagy both come in with one loss, and for each of you it was by disqualification. When I talked to Nagy after his loss, he said he would use that experience to better himself as a fighter. Do you feel the same way about your DQ – that maybe it was a blessing in disguise?

I know mine was a blessing in disguise. Nagy was getting beat up when he got DQ’d. He was getting hit with big shots by a guy that hadn’t won a fight since 2006, maybe 2005. He got frustrated. He has a heart as little as my nephew’s. My nephew is one year old.

It sounds like you think he can’t handle adversity. Is that something you plan to take with you into fight night?

That’s basically the game plan. We need to bring him back to where he’s been before. He doesn’t have a Plan B, or a Plan C. When Plan A doesn’t work, that’s when he will start getting frustrated and won’t be able to think straight. He can’t fool me. He is going to get hurt really bad. And if he runs, I am going to catch him and beat him. If comes at me, I’m going to take him apart, piece by piece, like a cheap puzzle.

You say you want to beat up Nagy, but is that really the right strategy for you in the fight?

You just have to know him. You have to take people out of their comfort zone. He’s used to being the aggressor, and the big bad guy with all these knockouts. I am going to take him out of his game plan, and we are going to do it the way I want to do it.

Tell me if this is by coincidence or not – the one loss of your career, even if it was by DQ, was when you came in at the heaviest weight of your career. Did weight have anything to do with it, and do you struggle with weight being in the one weight class without a limit?

I’ve always been a big guy. I’ve been a big kid my whole life. Anyone that knows me, and sees me in the gym will tell you I’m the hardest worker. If you look at me, you don’t see fat hanging off the back. I am just a big guy. I run, I do strength and conditioning. I had a lot going on in my life when I lost that fight. It was really a blessing in disguise. I was winning the fight easy; I had the guy down three times in two rounds. I hit him with a hook the body, I came up top with the same time, the referee said it was behind the head, and suddenly my opponent acted drunk and couldn’t continue. That’s how mine happened. Nagy literally looked his opponent in the eye and threw a flying headbutt. This isn’t MMA. Tell him to go put on some tighty whities and roll around on the floor if he wants to throw headbutts and elbows.

Getting away from this fight for a second, let’s talk about your career up until this point. You haven’t fought any big names, but you’re still developing. But you have fought an interesting crop of middle-of-the-road guys.

I have been fighting since the age of two. Boxing to me is like the average guy getting up, going to work, and logging into his computer. It’s normal, it’s natural to me. I like the big fights. I don’t want to be like the fighters fighting guys 30-0 who are fighting guys 2-18. I can’t get up for fights like that. I guess I am just a different type of heavyweight.

Everyone’s goal is to win the heavyweight championship of the world, but how do you see yourself getting there?

I think the only thing that’s keeping me from a title shot and being the next heavyweight champion of the world is signing with one of these promoters, but with the contracts they are giving right now, I just can’t. So for now I will just keep freelancing and beating these guys.

Final thoughts?

I am one of the best American heavyweight hopefuls out there. I practice what I preach. This fight is another chapter in the book that will lead me to the heavyweight championship. I will paint a beautiful picture.

The Madison vs. Aguilera showdown is the headliner of the annual “Night of Future Champions” event which showcases exciting, young boxing prospects during the first weekend of world-class thoroughbred racing at Saratoga Springs ’ historic track. “I am so happy to host the New York State heavyweight championship fight on our annual Saratoga card,” said promoter Lisa Elovich. “The fans will be chomping at the bit to see all of the exciting local prospects, too. This is a card that no one will want to miss!”

Tickets and more information are available from Pugnacious Promotions (www.pugnaciouspromotions.com) or call 518-527-0160. Reserved tickets are $125 for Golden Ringside and $75 for Ringside. General Admission open seats are $40. VIP tables, including dinner catered by Brindisi ’s and table service throughout the evening, also are available.